Pupils research WW1 tale of Kirkmichael pals

Senior pupils at Kirkmichael Primary School pictured at the village's war memorial (Image: Blairgowrie Advertiser)

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Kirkmichael Primary School pupils have delved into the village’s past for a war memorial competition run by the Royal British Legion Scotland.

The competition required children to research the story of their local war memorial and the lives of the men whose names appeared on it as part of the Royal British Legion Scotland’s countdown to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War.

The Kirkmichael entry told the story of two best friends who joined the navy at a young age and both died, aged 18, at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

The children were assisted in their efforts by Richard Stratton, an archivist with the Mount Blair Community Archive.

He said: “Once we had initially researched all of the information we could find on the men, the pupils decided to tell the story of Peter Mitchell and Harry Morrison. Photographs, letters, and the story had been passed on to Kirkmichael resident Jean Blair, who recounted their tale and gave permission for letters and photographs to be used.

“The pupils got creative. They made a video and wrote their own scripts, researched details about the Battle of Jutland and the HMS Defence, designed recruitment posters and made sketches of the memorial and the Defence.

“They even wrote a letter to the Mount Blair Community Council asking them to do all they can to get the condition of the Kirkmichael War Memorial improved.

“Perth and Kinross Council and the community council are now going over proposals that should see maintenance work carried out this summer.”